Liverpool sign RB Leipzig's Ibrahima Konate for ÂŁ36 mllion with a five-year contract in place
Ibrahima Konate made 95 appearances for RB Leipzig
|Liverpool has managed to secure the services of Ibrahim Konate from RB Leipzig after triggering his ÂŁ36 million release clause. Konate has been heavily linked with a move for quite some time and has signed a five-year contract agreed, with him set to join the club after the U21 Euros.
With Ibrahima Konate impressing at RB Leipzig alongside Dayot Upamecano, Liverpool were heavily compelled to trigger his release clause and secure their long term fixture in the defence by acquiring the signature of the Frenchman. With a serious injury crisis decimating their team last season including long-term knocks to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, it forced Jurgen Klopp to promote academy graduates and fresh faces to be drafted in.
As a result, Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips have impressed during a late surge for Champions League qualification, but could both be loaned out in 2021-22 along with new arrival Ben Davies. Furthermore, the departure of Ozan Kabak has made it imperative to sign a central defender to be partnered along with the likes of Van Dijk with Konate their man and it saw the Frenchman admit his joy at signing for a club the size of Liverpool.
"I’m really happy to be joining such a massive club like Liverpool. It’s a really exciting moment for me and my family and I am really looking forward to meeting my new team-mates, the staff and getting started on this new chapter. Right now, my focus is on the U21 European Championships with France, but after this competition I know I will be joining one of the best teams in the world and that gives me a great feeling," Konate told Liverpool's official website.
"I have worked very hard for many years to get to this point, but I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at RB Leipzig and all the people I worked with there – the coaches, my team-mates, the staff and especially the fans. Your support helped me grow up during my time there and become not only a better player, but a better man and I will always be grateful for it."
Accord Convenu âś…
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 28, 2021
We are delighted to have reached an agreement for the transfer of @IbrahimaKonate_ from @DieRotenBullen đź”´
